12 Oct 14
Skyrim vorpX | Skyrim in VR, My Experience As The Dovahkiin

One of the first things I wanted to experience when I got my Oculus Rift DK2 was exploring The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Thanks to plugins like vorpX, that’s now a possibility. Skyrim VR isn’t native to the game but thanks to the Steam Workshop there are some mods that allow the game to play very well on the Oculus Rift.

Skyrim vorpX | Skyrim in VR,

My Experience As The Dovahkiin

[/fusion_text][/fullwidth][separator style_type=”single” top_margin=”40″ bottom_margin=”40″ sep_color=”#906bee” icon=”fa-eye” width=”50%” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]One of the first things I wanted to experience when I got my Oculus Rift DK2 was exploring The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Thanks to plugins like vorpX, that’s now a possibility. Skyrim VR isn’t native to the game but thanks to the Steam Workshop there are some mods that allow the game to play very well on the Oculus Rift. Let me say if you enjoy Skyrim you’re going to loveit in VR.

Does it enhance the game? No, there is no native VR support and the game wasn’t built with the Oculus Rift in mind. What it does is let you experience Skyrim in a brand new way. Those familiar with Skyrim will get a thrill seeing their favorite areas and towns in VR and may even get a thrill exploring and sight seeing rather than fulfilling your duties as the Dovahkiin.[/fusion_text][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”#906bee” icon=”” width=”50%” class=”” id=””][fullwidth backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”http://riftybusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Skyrim-vorpX-03.jpg” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”center top” backgroundattachment=”fixed” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”solid” paddingtop=”80px” paddingbottom=”80px” paddingleft=”10px” paddingright=”10px” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][youtube id=”xl-8sDbjEd0″ width=”650″ height=”400″ autoplay=”no” api_params=”” class=”center”][/fullwidth][separator style_type=”shadow” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”35″ sep_color=”#906bee” icon=”” width=”50%” class=”” id=””][one_half last=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]For those of you that have been living under a rock for the last couple of years The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is the fifth game in the Elder Scrolls series that takes place in a vast fantasy universe alike Lord of the Rings of Dungeon and Dragons. In Skyrim you play as the Dovahkiin, a legendary hero ment to save the land of Skyrim from the wrath of dragons thought to be extinct. When you start the game you are a prisoner being sent to execution. After creating your character and choosing a name no one will ever call you by, you escape your execution and after a brief tutorial on how to play (Impressively given while escaping a dragon attack), you are left to wonder the world.[/fusion_text][/one_half][one_half last=”yes” class=”” id=””][youtube id=”4nmVCW2Huhg” width=”600″ height=”350″ autoplay=”no” api_params=”” class=””][/one_half][two_third last=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]The beauty of the Elder Scroll games is the fact you don’t have to progress the story in order to play. As soon as you are give a basic understanding of the plot the game lets go of your hand and lets you freely wander the world. You see those mountain there? Far off in the distance? Go climb them! Who cares if there’s a World Ending dragon approaching, there may be loot up in those hills!

Along with growing stronger, fighting and learning new magic and skills you can also do non combative tasks such as exploring and collecting alchemist ingredients such as plants and butterfly wings. And let’s just say that once you start chasing a butterfly in VR you can’t go back to being the same person you once were.[/fusion_text][/two_third][one_third last=”yes” class=”” id=””][youtube id=”JSRtYpNRoN0″ width=”600″ height=”350″ autoplay=”no” api_params=”” class=””][/one_third][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”#906bee” icon=”” width=”50%” class=”” id=””][fullwidth backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”http://riftybusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/SkyrimVR-01.jpg” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”center top” backgroundattachment=”fixed” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”solid” paddingtop=”80px” paddingbottom=”80px” paddingleft=”10px” paddingright=”10px” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]

Seeing Skyrim With My Own Eyes

[/fusion_text][/fullwidth][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”#906bee” icon=”” width=”50%” class=”” id=””][three_fifth last=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]
To get Skyrim to run in VR I used the vorpX plugin, a $40 driver that allows non VR enabled games like Skyrim to work on headsets like the Oculus Rift. Once you start vorpX and open Skyrim the game will automatically set itself up to be displayed on the Oculus Rift. Clicking the scroll wheel while in game will bring up a VR menu where you can fine tune the VR settings such as speed, UI placement and screen range. I recommend that people who want to play Skyrim in vorpX to take the time to properly set their settings, vorpX is still in beta and there are some bugs but once you have you setting optimized to your liking the game plays great.[/fusion_text][/three_fifth][two_fifth last=”yes” class=”” id=””][imageframe lightbox=”yes” style_type=”bottomshadow” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” stylecolor=”” align=”center” link=”” linktarget=”_self” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ class=”” id=””] [/imageframe][/two_fifth][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”#906bee” icon=”” width=”50%” class=”” id=””][fullwidth backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”http://riftybusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/SkyrimVR-02.jpg” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”center top” backgroundattachment=”fixed” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”solid” paddingtop=”80px” paddingbottom=”80px” paddingleft=”10px” paddingright=”10px” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]

Combat

[/fusion_text][/fullwidth][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”#906bee” icon=”” width=”50%” class=”” id=””][fullwidth backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”” paddingtop=”0px” paddingbottom=”0px” paddingleft=”0px” paddingright=”0px” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]One of the main concerns I had going into Skyrim VR was if I would be able to fight without feeling nauseous or disorientated. Let me put those concerns to rest by saying the fighting in this game works great in VR. Occasionally in heated combat enemies will get too close which can cause some clipping and minor screaming (Trolls are fugly up close). To those unfamiliar with Skyrim combat, you can fight in a number of ways, mainly using melee weapons, magic or archery.

Skyrim is typically played in First Person (or 3rd if you like looking at your armor) allowing you to see your arms and the weapon or magic you have equipped. Attacking with a melee weapon swings your Dovahkiin’s arms but doesn’t cause any forced head movements keeping you view unobstructive when fighting. In VR archey is even more satisfying than it normally is. Arrows actually fly towards you in 3D making long range fight much more exciting and firing arrows has a nice depth of field 3d feel that while making aiming more difficult, seeing an arrow pierce your target in slow motion feels better than ever.[/fusion_text][/fullwidth][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”#906bee” icon=”” width=”50%” class=”” id=””][fullwidth backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”http://riftybusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/SkyrimVR-03.jpg” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”center top” backgroundattachment=”fixed” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”solid” paddingtop=”80px” paddingbottom=”80px” paddingleft=”10px” paddingright=”10px” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]

Exploring

[/fusion_text][/fullwidth][fullwidth backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”” paddingtop=”0px” paddingbottom=”0px” paddingleft=”0px” paddingright=”0px” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”#906bee” icon=”” width=”50%” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Besides the responsibilities of saving the world and the duties of being the first Dovahkiin (Not to mention the nifty power to absorb the souls of dragons) just exploring the land of Skyrim is an enjoyable feature in VR. The map is huge and besides towns, caves and other areas on the map, there are some hidden areas, places and things left up to the player to discover. You can even build your own home and get married (if you got the DLC that is… why don’t you, it was on sale). Outdoor areas have slight lag compared to indoor areas, not enough to become unplayable but enough to notice. Depending on your rig this may or may not be an issues but on my PC which can run Skyrim pretty effortlessly experienced some lag in the open world map when played on the DK2.

The sense of scale feels real and collecting alchemy ingredients becomes more entertaining in VR rather than a chore. Some objects in the distance seem smaller than they actually are, a side effect of the game switching out the models depending on the distance you are located on the map. For example, a mountain in the distance will sometimes seem very tiny in VR but approaching or fast traveling to the mountain will reveal it to be much bigger and detailed then from what was seen in the distance.[/fusion_text][/fullwidth][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”#906bee” icon=”” width=”50%” class=”” id=””][fullwidth backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”http://riftybusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/SkyrimVR-04.jpg” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”center top” backgroundattachment=”fixed” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”solid” paddingtop=”80px” paddingbottom=”80px” paddingleft=”10px” paddingright=”10px” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]

It Isn’t Perfect

[/fusion_text][/fullwidth][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”#906bee” icon=”” width=”50%” class=”” id=””][fullwidth backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”” paddingtop=”0px” paddingbottom=”0px” paddingleft=”0px” paddingright=”0px” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]The vorpX version of Skyrim works but isn’t perfect. To vorpX’s defense it is still in beta and there are various mod on the Nexusand Steam Workshop that may patch these issues as well as others. One concern is that the tracking occasional messes up and need recalibration. When controlling the game with the mouse its easy to readjust your view by nudging your mouse or shaking your head but when it occurs it makes the experience lose its immersive feel. Another issue is the UI isn’t really set correctly and subtitles, menus and options go out of view. There are many different UI mods that adjust the UI to display problem and vorpX has a native UI view by simply clicking in the mouse wheel not making it a game breaking issue. Furthermore you can create VR hotkeys and adjust the UI view to your prefered settings. Thought the game wasn’t meant for VR the PC community does a pretty damn good job making sure it’ll work under the right conditions.

[/fusion_text][two_fifth last=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]POSITIVES[/fusion_text][checklist icon=”” iconcolor=”#ffffff” circle=”no” circlecolor=”” size=”small” class=”” id=””][li_item icon=””]The gameplay isn’t effective in VR. Melee combat still works great and isn’t nauseating, while long range combat is more difficult and much more satisfying in VR.[/li_item][li_item icon=””]The vast world of Skyrim makes it a great place to just walk and explore. Positional tracking make collecting resources more rewarding.[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Using Voice Attack in combination with the Oculus Rift with vorpX may have made me look a bit crazy from the outside but VR is a great way to revive this 3 year game.[/li_item][/checklist][/two_fifth][two_fifth last=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]NEGATIVES[/fusion_text][checklist icon=”fa-times” iconcolor=”#f7765e” circle=”no” circlecolor=”” size=”small” class=”” id=”negatives”][li_item icon=””]Bugs with the vorpX driver caused the head tracking to more require adjusting[/li_item][li_item icon=””]Skyrim wasn’t built to be played in VR so menus are difficult to navigate without the right mods or knowledge in the vorpX configuration[/li_item][li_item icon=””]The game has some juddering, especially in the outdoor areas which may be less frequent with better hardware or a more updated vorpX driver.[/li_item][/checklist][/two_fifth][one_fifth last=”yes” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]

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